Spring 2022 Sophomore Seminars
The Sophomore Success Initiative will offer the following six seminars just for sophomores in Spring 2022:
AAH/FILM 269: Digital Media and Culture I, Amy Hauber, 1.0-unit, Mondays and Wednesdays 1:30-4 PM
This is a combination studio art/seminar course. Over the course of the semester you will learn the basics of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. At the same time, through readings, media, group discussions and exercises, we will explore some of the major theoretical issues surrounding digital communications and technology, and how they affect contemporary society/life/identity.
ENG/FILM 3067, Lived Experience: James Baldwin and Spike Lee. Peter Bailey, 1.0-unit, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:40-2:10 PM
This course will be comprised of many dialogues, two of them between the essays and fictions of Baldwin (Go Tell It on the Mountain and the stories in Going to Meet the Man) and the films of Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing, Crooklyn, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Bamboozled, and Black Klansman). Because Lee worked from Baldwin’s screenplay for Malcolm X, we know they have much to exchange with each other—including a substantial disagreement over the goals of African/American art. Another central class dialogue will be between class members debating the cultural and ideological contributions of Baldwin and Lee in the era of Black Lives Matter.
ENVS 3069, For the Love of Chocolate, Sara Ashpole, 1.0-unit, Tuesdays and Thursdays 12:40-2:10 PM
Cocoa has been cultivated for centuries and today it’s a much loved indulgent confectionery. In this course, students explore the interdisciplinary nature of chocolate and sustainability. Chocolate is art, music, film, literature, spiritual, medicinal, culinary, commodity, injustice, environment and science. Historians shed light on how chocolate changed the world. Economists show a greedy consumer-driven global chocolate market estimated at 139 billion USD, which might just vanish as scientists estimate there are less than 25 years before the plant faces extinction from climate change. This course aims to foster creativity by allowing students to share their own ideas and interests around chocolate. A multimedia research project will have independent and collaborative elements to engage the SLU community in fun and exciting ways. Students will also enhance their professional development skills through participation in both Sustainability Day and the Chocolate Passport Festival celebration.
PH 3011, Foundations of Community Health, Marianna Locke, 1.0-unit, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:40-2:10 PM
This interdisciplinary course will examine community health in the United States from a sociological perspective. We will study the relationship between self and society by exploring how social and environmental factors influence health outcomes. This analysis will be rooted in the intersection of individual and community health. Students will develop a deeper understanding for the complex relationships, policies, problems, and potential solutions that exist in the field of community health. Ultimately, this course will challenge students move beyond awareness to action, in relation to both individual and community wellbeing.
ND 100, Careers 101: Exploring the Liberal Arts and Careers, Alvin Henry and Michelle Gould, 0.5-unit, Wednesdays 2:30-4:00 PM
This course provides students with the foundational skills, resources, and tools necessary to explore, assess, and pursue a career. It will show how a liberal arts education helps students become leaders, innovators, and global citizens. Through a series of projects and case studies, students will develop and apply their new skills and knowledge. By the end of the course, students will write and revise relevant job materials that will create success in searching for employment. Topics covered include networking with alumni, interviewing, resumes, digital profiles, cover letters, diversity and inclusion in the workplace, skills assessments, developing new skills as needed (upskilling), cultivating resiliency, and critically reflecting on the intersection of the liberal arts and your career trajectory.
ND 3011 PALS—Promoting Active Laurentian Safety: Awareness and Action, Evelyn Jennings and Victoria Lederer, 0.5 unit, Tuesdays 7:00-8:30 PM
Ever wondered how you could help to shift campus culture in a positive direction and develop the relationships and knowledge to do it? We’ll discuss some of the challenges faced by college students, especially regarding mental health and wellness. We'll learn and practice actions that can interrupt bias, help build a sex positive and safe community, and work toward a more inclusive campus culture, and you’ll develop a proposal for campus programming on an issue you care about.